Another dismal batting display cost the 3's

The 3's were at home on a warm day against bottom of the table Southgate Adelaide 3's.

The oppo won the toss and decided to bat as they only had 9 men.

Andrew Godfrey (0-32) and George Leggett (2-24) opened the bowling and started well restricting the oppo to 13-0 off 5 overs. Then the 2 opening batsmen started to free their arms and runs and boundaries began to flow and at 10 overs the score was 50-1. The skipper turned to Dan Penny (3-24) and Tommy Smith (2-25) to get the break through and both bowled nicely. The first wicket fell thanks to an excellent caught and bowled chance that Tommy hung onto to remove the number 1 batsmen who was nearing a 50 and then in his next over got the number 3 batsmen out thanks to a good catch from Anand Verma at gully. Dan was next to strike as Farzan was the man to take the catch as the oppo reached 92-3 off 22 overs. Dave Knight (1-36) replaced Tommy and instantly got success thanks to another smart catch by Anand. Dan got the next wicket to fall as he got rid of the dangerous number 5 batsman as he was bowled. George Leggett came back on to replace Dave who had been expensive in his last few overs and he got the next wicket as he bowled the number 6 batsman. Dan then got the next, bowling the number 7 before George wrapped up the innings bowling the number 9 as the oppo were all out for 143.

James Thompson (16) and Anand Verma (13) opened the batting for the Village with 10 overs to face before tea. They were both steady and watchful before Anand scored a few boundaries to up the run rate. Anand was first wicket to fall as he chipped one straight back to the bowler for an easy caught and bowled chance. Dave Jackson (6) joined the skipper at the crease and the pair got to tea with the score at 36-1. After tea the pair looked to press on and score some runs to put the pressure back on the bowlers and after 2 overs which resulted in 15 runs and with the score past 50 DJ was adjudged to be LBW even though he appeared to be hit outside the line. Farzan Dulker Nain (18) was next in but the skipper was soon to depart being bowled off stump to a ball with a bit of extra bounce. The very next ball saw Dan Penny (0) given out LBW with a very high ball that probably would have missed the stumps which meant within the space of 4 overs the Village had gone from complete control at 52-1 to 56-4. Mohamed Salahudeen (5) joined Farzan at the crease and the Village needed a partnership to get them back in the game. Farzan hit 3 consecutive boundaries in one over and Mohamed hit a boundary clipping one of his legs, but in the next over he clipped one straight to square leg. Farzan then went for another big hit when the field was pushed back and he was caught at long on. Rachit Chawla (0) and Dave Knight (0) were the next batsmen in and both fell for ducks as Rachit was out LBW and Dave was bowled. Andrew Godfrey (7) and Tommy Smith (0) were the next pair in and Tommy was soon back in the hutch as he was bowled. George Leggett (4*) was last in with the Village needing an improbable 53 to win. Godders was the last man out as he was bowled as the Village had collapsed and lost their last 9 wickets for 43 runs.

Very disappointing to lose a game against a relegation rival and against a team with only 9 men. The bowlers gave the oppo a decent start as the opening pair got their teeth into some loose bowling. The change bowlers got the innings back on track with some decent stuff and picked up wickets to leave the Village the same runs they had knocked off the week before. The start of the run chase was solid and it looked as though the Village would cruise to victory but to go from 52-1 to 95 all out is a poor batting performance which is becoming an unwanted theme this season. Our next 4 fixtures are against the 4 top sides so we will have to be at our best to pick up enough points to steer us away from the bottom of the table.